


Birthday Surprise

by PinkPandorafrog



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, rated for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 03:39:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5990548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkPandorafrog/pseuds/PinkPandorafrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy goes to visit her sister Laura for her birthday. Clint brings home a surprise, and forgets the cake. Good thing there's cupcakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [neverending_shenanigans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverending_shenanigans/gifts).



Darcy pulled her car to a stop in the gravelly stretch of yard that passed for a driveway, turning the ignition off and pulling the keys out. She stared up at the house for a long moment, a grin breaking out over her face. She always loved coming out here.

The front door was already opening, somebody must have heard her pulling up. Sure enough, Laura was making her way towards her, Lucky just a few steps in front.

Darcy opened the car door and stepped outside. The ground was a little soggy from the last few days' worth of rain, but at least it wasn't frozen. She'd gotten her car stuck out here at least once when it was frozen.

Laura reached her and pulled her into a big hug. “It's so good to see you.”

“Of course.” Darcy wrapped her arms around the other woman, holding her close. “Happy birthday. How are you, Sis?”

“Good. Really good.” After a long moment, the two pulled away. Laura looked down at her for a moment, her gaze turning slightly critical. “How are you doing?” That look always seemed to see entirely too much.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Fine, _Mom_.” Laura had a habit of worrying about her just a little too much. She was 10 years older, and she'd sort of stepped into the mom role ever since Darcy was old enough to remember.

“By fine you mean too much coffee and Twizzlers, and not enough actual food?” Laura gave her a knowing look before swinging her arm around her shoulders and heading back towards the house.

“Oh, whatever. Hey, my stuff,” Darcy protested, looking over her shoulder at the car even as she let her older sister guide her along. It wasn't like she had much, just a backpack.

Laura glanced over her shoulder as well. “We'll get it later, it's not like it's going anywhere.”

“Then it'll be all cold.” Darcy made a face. “Why did you have to be born in February, anyway?”

“Just to piss you off.” Laura grinned at her.

Darcy reached down to scratch Lucky behind the ears as Laura pulled the door open. “Is it just us?”

“Yeah. For a while, anyway.”

Darcy stepped inside and turned to give Laura a raised-eyebrow look of question. Laura just shrugged, shaking her head. Clint wasn't around, and the kids weren't around... Darcy was willing to bet money that _someone_ had forgotten his wife's birthday and was out trying to make up for it. You know, again.

There was a batch of cupcakes spread out over the table, half of them iced with blue icing. Laura pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling a butter knife out of the bowl of icing.

Darcy would totally help, but... “Speaking of coffee...” Clint drank it like it was water, so there was usually a pot on all day at the Barton house. Which suited Darcy just fine.

“You know where the mugs are.” Laura gave her a look, quickly spreading icing over one of the cupcakes.

Well, that was true. She was family, which meant getting her own coffee. She'd totally do the dishes after dinner, though. “So how are things up here?” Darcy asked, moving over to the cupboard to pull a mug down and fill it with fresh coffee.

Laura filled her in with what had been going on around the farm as they finished icing the cupcakes. Nathaniel was crawling already, Clint was building a pen for fainting goats that may or may not ever actually get finished. The kids were doing well in school. “How's work?”

“Not bad, I think. It's been a little crazy since the shit hit the fan, but I think everything is _finally_ settling down now.” Darcy made a face. “You know. Maybe.” She did PR for SI, and after the whole Sokovia thing the world had gone _insane_. “Hey, is Nat coming out?”

Laura shook her head, letting out a long sigh. “No, they are out of the country right now.” The Avengers, obviously.

Darcy didn't get to hear what was going on with them so much anymore since they'd left Manhattan, she hadn't heard that. Of course, it was probably a top secret mission too, which meant the general public wouldn't hear anything about it until it was over. “Bet you're glad Clint's not out there with them.” She gave her sister a pointed look.

Laura had a small smile on her face. “For now.” They had an unofficial bet about when Clint would cave and get back in the game.

The door opened. Lila came running in, and Lucky jumped up from where he'd been sleeping under the table to dance around her feet. “Mommy! Daddy brought home a surprise for you!”

“What's that?” Laura asked, looking mildly amused as she caught her daughter in a huge hug.

Darcy's eyebrows went up. That could mean just about anything. Literally anything, knowing Clint. At least it was unlikely to be explosive. Probably.

Cooper came in, followed by Clint, who was holding Nathaniel. Clint didn't shut the door behind him, though, and in just a second someone very familiar walked in carrying Darcy's backpack.

She stared up at him, eyebrows raising in surprise. “Sam?”

“Hey, Darcy. I recognized your car. You left this outside.” Well, it had been sitting in the backseat, and it wasn't like Sam would have any trouble getting into a locked car. Had she even locked her car? They were out in the middle of nowhere.

He wasn't alone, though. As he stepped into the house, another man came into view behind him. She assumed it was his older brother, Dean. She saw Sam every once in a while, but she hadn't seen Dean in _years_. He looked... Yeah, he looked pretty good.

“Surprise,” he said, a cocky grin on his face. The grin she recognized. That much hadn't changed. “Happy birthday, Laura.”

Laura looked entirely bemused, glancing between Clint and the brothers. She got to her feet and hugged Sam first, then Dean. “How did you guys get here?”

Lila was bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Daddy saw them when we were getting you cake.” She looked entirely delighted at the proceedings. Lila loved people. Much to her parents' chagrin, strangers were just friends she hadn't met yet.

Sam and Dean stayed at the motel Darcy and Laura's mom worked at when they were kids. Their mom had died when Sam was a baby, and she felt sorry for them. They were a pretty regular fixture in the kitchen for a few years as they moved in and out of town, Dean had been Laura's first crush. Darcy knew that Laura and Dean had kept in touch, but she wasn't aware they were still this close. Or that Clint knew them. Apparently, though...

“Are you guys in town on a case?” Darcy asked as Laura pulled away. She couldn't help but notice that Clint hadn't brought a cake in. Was there no cake? Well, at least there'd be cupcakes.

The two brothers exchanged a look, and Darcy rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You guys do know that's Hawkeye, right?” She lifted her hand and pointed at her brother-in-law, who was wearing one of his shit-eating grins.

“No, we're between cases now.” Sam made his way through the kitchen and handed Darcy her bag. She took it and placed it gently on the floor beside the table leg, then got up to hug him. Hugging Sam was almost as good as hugging Thor, but Sam had a little less bulk (and height) to him. “How are you?”

“Wait.” Dean's voice pulled her attention back to him as she slipped away from Sam and took her seat again. “You're Darcy? Little Darcy?” His eyes moved up to his brother as he pointed at her. “She's Darcy? You knew about this and didn't tell me?”

Laura shot Dean a look. “Do you guys have a place to stay?” They made noises about a motel, but Laura shook her head with an air of finality. “You can stay here. We have plenty of room.”

* * *

 

Clint had not gotten the cake. He'd been distracted by the Winchesters. Apparently, though, bringing them home was a satisfactory birthday gift in addition to the other things that were broadly hinted at after dinner. You know, _wink_.

Darcy escaped out to the porch with her Irish coffee, settling down on the porch swing. She'd totally brought a blanket out with her too, wrapped tightly around her like a cocoon. The weather had finally cleared up, so of course it was going to freeze. One leg was tucked up under her, and she pushed at the wooden porch with her toes to set herself gently swinging.

The door opened again not too much later, and she looked up to see Lucky coming outside, followed by Dean. “He wanted to go out.” He gestured to the dog, who was running out into the yard.

Darcy nodded. She shifted over a little bit, making room on the swing. Dean sauntered across the porch and lowered himself to sit next to her. “This is nice. Is the porch swing the rural equivalent of the picket fence?” He gave the swing a bit of a push, making it sway gently.

“I think so.” Darcy nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. She'd put it in a travel mug so the cool night air wouldn't automatically turn it tepid. “I didn't know you were on the Christmas card list.”

“Yeah.” Dean nodded. “Shortly after Clint bought the farm we were out here after a Wendigo. Well...” He paused for a second. “Not 'bought the farm...'” Darcy smiled a little, rolling her eyes. “And you, you got pretty cuddly with Sammy in there.”

“We ran into each other a few years ago, he was on a case.” By himself, but he'd told her that Dean was a little sensitive about Sam's solo work, so she didn't bring it up. “I'm one of his sources.” Dean looked a little surprised, and she nodded again. “Yeah. I work for SI, I kinda know about a lot of the shit that you guys deal with. I've played secretary for the feds a few times too.” Occasionally the local police force where they were working would want to call to verify their identity when they played FBI agents or whatever.

“Really?” Dean looked almost impressed.

Lucky came trotting back to them, tail fanning the air behind him. He rested his head on Darcy's knee, looking up at her until she reached out to scratch his ears. He'd probably try and climb into her lap if there was even a hint that he might fit.

“You grew up,” Dean said after another second. “I mean, of course you grew up, but I remember you as this tiny little thing all full of curly hair and sass.”

She grinned. “You'd probably still hear that, depending on who you asked.” She glanced over at him, offering him the mug. “And I remember you had the biggest crush on my sister.”

“Me?” He took the mug and pulled it up to his mouth for a long drink. “No way.” He didn't really sound very convincing.

“Oh yeah. Sam and I bitched about how disgusting you two were over each other.” Her eyes widened a little at the memory. Four-year-old Darcy and ten-year-old Sam glaring at their older siblings... Good times.

He grinned at that and saluted her with the cup before handing it back. “What are you doing out here anyway? It's freezing.” He was wearing a dark leather jacket, and he pulled it a little more firmly around himself.

“Because I miss this. I miss the stars. I miss the quiet.” Sighing, she looked at him for a second. He did look a little chilly. “Here, hang on.” She gave him back the coffee and got to her feet. Lucky followed her over to the door and she let him back into the house. A wave of warmth and happy voices washed over her when she opened the door, but she shut it again behind the dog and made her way back to the porch swing.

“Stand up.” He looked a question at her, but he unfolded himself to his full height. Darcy made a face, staring up at him. She hadn't really noticed how tall he was before. Sure, shorter than Sam, but Thor was the only person she knew personally who _wasn't_ shorter than Sam. “Why'd you have to turn out so tall, anyway?”

“I'm actually pretty sure that's genetic.” He looked slightly bemused as he looked down at her.

Darcy unwrapped the blanket from around herself and reached up to drape it across Dean's shoulders. She tucked the short end in against his arm, wrapping the other part around herself. “There. Now we sit.”

They sat down again, wrapped in the blanket together. The outside of Dean's coat was chilly against her arm and side, but it would warm up soon enough. “Better?”

“Yeah. Just...” He pulled his arm out from between them and slid it across her shoulders until she was snuggled up against his side. “There.”

“That was pretty smooth.” Darcy nodded. “Way better than the whole yawning-stretching thing.”

“Hey.” He shifted a little until she could feel him looking down at her. “You're the one who wrapped us up in a blanket together.”

“Of course I did.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “Otherwise you were going to freeze to death. I'm a very practical person.”

They sat like that for awhile, passing the mug back and forth until the coffee was completely gone. Darcy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

“I dunno. I should probably find out.” He sounded a little bit reluctant. “Get our shit inside.”

“Sleep in with me. I have my own room here.” Well, sometimes it moonlighted as Nat's room, but Nat was family too.

Dean went completely still, and it was a second before he said, “I dunno, my, uh, track record lately's been, uh... Pretty shitty.”

“What do you mean?” What did he mean? “Like... you get violent in your sleep? Spontaneously combust? Limbs fall off?”

“Nothing like that, just sleeping with someone. A girl." He gestured at her. "A woman.” He sort of shrugged.

 _Oh_. “You mean, like, sex?” She turned to look at him.

He was looking back at her, eyebrows raised. “You didn't?”

She grinned. “Well, I mean, I wouldn't say _no_...” Dean wasn't exactly hard on the eyes. “But you've gone through some pretty fucked up things lately, and some good, old-fashioned cuddling would probably do you some good.”

Something went through his eyes, almost a longing of sorts. His tone was light, though, when he answered her. “Is that your official opinion?”

“Yeah. It's science. I know all about science now.” _Totally_ science.

He glanced towards the door. “What's Laura going to say about that? And Clint? I don't want Clint trying to kill me.”

“That I'm a grown-ass woman and I can share my bed with whoever I want?” Her eyebrows went up as she looked at him. “If you don't want to, that's totally cool. I promise you're not gonna hurt my feelings.”

He was silent for another few seconds, then nodded. “No, that sounds... Nice.” His eyebrows drew together a little bit. “Nice?” Like he was questioning his use of the word.

“Sounds pretty nice to me. We should probably get back in the house, though.” Darcy let the blanket fall from her shoulders as she got to her feet.

Dean was immediately up behind her, and his arm went around her again. “So you don't freeze,” he said with a touch of his cocky grin.

 

**Author's Note:**

> For the FYDL Galentine's Exchange! Hope you like it! :D


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